The Sound Of Europe 1
The Sound Of Europe 1 '''was the 1st edition of the Sound Of Europe. It took place in OAKA, Athens, Greece. This was the first time that Greece hosted the contest. The 1st edition consisted of three semi-finals, which took place on 16 March 2015, and a final, held on 21 March 2015. The shows were presented by Sakis Rouvas and Maria Menounos while Kalomoira was hosting the green room. Forty-six countries participated in the 1st edition. Once all the votes had been announced, based on 50% jury and 50% televoting, Sweden won the contest, with Molly Sandén's song "Freak". Sweden became the first country to win the contest. Location '''Athens '''is the capital and largest city of '''Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence starting somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. In modern times, Athens is a large cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the largest passenger port in Europe and the second largest in the world. The municipality (city) of Athens had a population of 664,046 (in 2011) within its administrative limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi). The urban area of Athens (Greater Athens and Greater Piraeus) extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits, with a population of 3,090,508 (in 2011)[ over an area of 412 km2(159 sq mi). The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments. Venue The event took place in Athens, Greece, with the venue being the OAKA (Olympiako Athlitiko Kentro Athinon). It is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spyros Louis. The stadium hosts one of the biggest sport clubs in Greece, AEK Athens. Format The edition consisted of three semi-finals and a final. The nine countries with the highest scores in first semi-final qualified to the final, while the eight with the highest scores qualified to the final from the second and third semi final. Each participating country had their own national jury, which consisted of five professional members of the music industry. Each member of a respective nation's jury was required to rank every song, except that of their own country. The voting results from each member of a particular nation's jury were combined to produce an overall ranking from first to last place. Likewise, the televoting results were also interpreted as a full ranking, taking into account the full televoting result rather than just the top ten. The combination of the jury's full ranking and the televote's full ranking produced an overall ranking of all competing entries. The song which scored the highest overall rank received 12 points, while the tenth-best ranked song received 1 point. Running order The final running order of the competing performances at the semi-finals and the final were decided by the producer of the show and approved by the Executive Supervisor, the CBU and the Reference Group. Presenters On 19 December 2014, ERT announced that Sakis Rouvas and Maria Menounos were the hosts of the 1st edition. Kalomoira Saradi was also chosen as host of the green room. National host broadcaster During an initial meeting between the host broadcaster ERT and CBU (Contest Broadcasting Union) in late January 2015, the representatives of the core organising team were selected. Merfi Amadeus was announced as the executive producer and Kostas Bouris as the executive supervisor. Participants On 10 January 2015, it was announced that forty-six countries would participate in the 1st edition of the Sound Of Europe. Semi-final 1 16 countries took part in the first semi-final. The nine songs in places 1 to 9 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Semi-final 2 15 countries took place in in the second semi-final. The eight songs in places 1 to 8 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Semi-final 3 15 countries took place in the the second semi-final. The eight songs in places 1 to 8 qualified for the final and are marked in orange. Final Scoreboard 12 points Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another in the final: Incidents Montenegrin debts Broadcaster RTCG has not been able to fund its expensive budget to the CBU and has delayed the payment of their debt to the CBU; putting the safety of Montenegro in the contest at risk. The CBU granted Montenegro to pay their debts at an extended deadline towards the first edition. Other countries Nothing to be said about other countries.